Television signals, whether input via standard broadcast method, cable input or from a video cassette recorder (VCR) conform to a communications standard whereby 525 lines of bandwidth are transmitted including approximately 483 lines of visible video information data. The remaining unused bandwidth, known as the vertical blanking interval, is available for transmitting additional encoded information. Presently, a portion of the vertical blanking interval (VBI) is used with some television programming which is "closed captioned for the hearing impaired." The captions, or text of the spoken information, is encoded and sent in the VBI along with the video information. At the receiver, i.e. the television, the VBI encoded data is decoded in closed caption circuitry and displayed on the television screen along with the video information. Either the VBI encoded caption information or the video information is subjected to a transmission and/or processing delay, in order to assure simultaneous display of the caption and video information. Special closed caption circuitry is provided for connection to a standard television unit for the decoding and display of caption information.
Similarly, other information may be transmitted in the vertical blanking interval of a video signal provided that the television unit receiving the transmission is equipped to decode and use the information. In a paper entitled "VPS a new System for domestic VCR start/stop by programme labels transmitted within the insertion date line," by Arthur Heller, Broadcast Sessions Symposium Record (June 1985), the insertion of cuing information in the VBI is taught to effect the recording operation by a video cassette recorder (VCR) associated with the receiving television. In accordance with the VBI data, the VCR begins recording a program at the start of the program, not at a preset scheduled time which is frequently subjected to unannounced change. Presumably, one could transmit the encoded commercial insertion interval information, as well, to cause the VCR to cease recording at the beginning of a commercial break and resume recording at the end of the commercial break.
Another example of VBI encoded data use is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546 of Fascenda et al. The Fascenda patent teaches the use of VBI transmitted data for the communication of information to subscribers, whose television sets may be equipped to decode and display contest information. Subscribers are provided with input devices for entering predictions of subsequent events in the displayed program (e.g., football plays). In this manner, Fascenda provides a level of interaction with the television programming for the viewer.
Owners of cartridge video game systems, such as Nintendo or Sega systems, regularly interact with displays on the television screen; however, the displays are generated and controlled by the program contained in the video cartridge, not transmitted television programming. Yet another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,800, which issued to David Lockton on Jan. 28, 1992, teaches a system for initializing and providing updated video game parameters, via FM or VHF transmission, to remotely located video game users who are concurrently playing the same game. Periodically, the remote users' scores are uploaded to a central facility for competitive ranking and/or contest prize allocation. As with other "interactive" systems, however, the video game is separate from any television programming. Truly interactive television would provide video game interaction with the transmitted television programming.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an interactive video game-television programming system.
It is further objective of the present invention to transmit video game cuing information in the vertical blanking interval of transmitted television signals.
It is another objective of the invention to synchronize television video information with video game cartridge information for coordinated intermingled display.
Yet another objective is to provide a remote pointing device for use with an interactive video game-television system.